Lightning around the stadium delayed the squad from hitting the turf by nearly an hour with rain, and the threat of additional summer thunder showers prompted the coaching staff to shorten practice, omitting one drill period. All told, the team worked through 11 of the scheduled 12 practice sessions, concluding around 5:30 pm after just under a two-hour workout.

During post-practice comments, third-year head coach Mark Speir challenged the squad to get better mentally through the evening film study sessions.

"I felt like we had a good practice today physically. I was proud of the effort. But I told the team, we need to get better mentally," said Speir. There was some adversity today - we had to come out late because of weather, the football was wet and we had some issues with things like concentration."

Speir added, "Overall, today was good. But we don't want to be just good; we want to be great and execute like a well-oiled machine regardless of the outside forces. Control what we can control and take advantage of the opportunity to get better as football players and as a team."

Western Carolina is scheduled to put on shoulder pads for the first time for Sunday afternoon's practice session at 2:00 pm. All of WCU's preseason football practices are open to the public. It is respectfully requested that spectators observe from the stadium seating area and avoid being either on the field or the sidelines for safety.

Fans can also keep track of preseason activities through the Catamount Athletics social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports) and Twitter (@catamounts), as well as video updates on the department's YouTube channel (CatamountSports).